Understanding Your Dogs Body Language

The Resource for Everything About Dogs

Understanding Your Dogs Body Language

by Dmitry Belov

To be a successful trainer and be in full harmony with your dog, you have to know the dogs body language.
Dogs like many other animals, show their intentions to others with their body language. There are three different parts of dogs physique which should be focused on. Head, Tail and Posture.

It is important to look at dogs ears. A dog will hold its ears in different positions for every type of mood he has. If the dog is making a grin by squeezing its skin in muzzle area and focusing its eye's on something, it means it is threatening the object of focus.
At the same time if the dog is showing its teeth and sides of the mouth are pulled back showing a smile type grimace, the dog is showing fear or lack of self confidence.

Another major factor in dogs body language is its tail! There are hundreds of different emotions which can be shown by dogs tail from playful happiness to deadly sorrow. Make sure to keep a watchful eye on your dogs tail in different situations and you will learn to literally read your dog.

Dogs posture is equally important. If the dog is stiff and is standing on tips of its paws, it is usually not a good idea to approach such an animal.

It is important to keep your attention at dogs posture, face expressions and tail when reading the body language, but more importantly you have to learn to combine all three together to make a full picture of what your dog is thinking and saying to you and other people!

This ability will help you know what's on your dogs mind and can be a life saver in preventing dog fights or dog bites.